Clayton's thoughts on media and consumption

Is the internet also ruining creativity?

The internet is often hailed as a creative place where everyone cane share their own ideas and creations. It has allowed creativity to be shared like never before, but I think it may have reached a point where it could also be stifling creativity.

I’m at my aunt’s house, and her two young boy (6 and 10 years old) are dying Easter eggs. The colors have all been made from the little pills mixing with vinegar, and the kids are drawing with clear crayons on their eggs to create designs. But, before they make any move with the crayon, they scurry into the next room to search for Easter egg designs online. Then, they attempt to mimic the designs as closely as possible, which, unsurprisingly for hyperactive kids, isn’t that close.

This scene is very different from how I remember Easter when I was younger. This is going to sound curmudgeonly, but I miss the days when you created your own designs on Easter eggs. But, of course, my concern runs deeper than creativity lacking one day a year. What if kids are now doing this for all of their art? Is access to creativity online blocking kids from honing their own creative skills? If kids just google a project before they do it, I don’t see how are they going to develop the capability to think of their own designs.